The Taming of Bellatrix Black
by the-booky-bookworm
Summary: Wild and unstoppable, ruthless and charming. Bellatrix Black is a princess of the Slytherin world of revenge, backstabbing, intrigue and murder she grew up in. She's never had anyone dare go against her. Until Rodolphus Lestrange, who's after both her crown - and her. Has this fickle pureblooded princess finally met her match?
1. Prologue

**AN: Dedicated to Little Emily, the first person to want a Bellatrix story ;)**

**Prologue**

Bellatrix Black was eleven years old the first time she killed a man.

It was also the first time she met Rodolphus Lestrange.

"Stay there, Bellatrix," her mother Druella ordered. "I need to buy something from Borgin and Burke's. Don't go anywhere, is that clear?" She strode away, leaving her daughter standing at the entrance to Knockturn Alley.

They had come to Diagon Alley to buy Bellatrix robes for her impending arrival at Hogwarts. She was excited, but only vaguely, and storm-grey eyes that seemed to be perpetually mocking surveyed her less-than-savoury surroundings. Her tall, slender body was slouching against a brick wall. Waist-length glossy black hair was twisted up into a looped plait. A single strand framed her pale, angular features.

Bellatrix Black was striking. She might not be beautiful, like her youngest sister Narcissa, but her lips were a full dark red and she had the high hollow cheekbones of her family. She exuded the sort of graceful contempt that made people want her to think highly of them. Bellatrix was a Black, through and through, and as she stood looking down her nose at everything on a foggy Sunday morning she had the sudden feeling that she was not alone.

"Hey there, beautiful."

She pivoted around. There was a man leering at her, leaning on the wall beside her. Her nose wrinkled at the stench of Firewhiskey coming off his breath and she stepped away.

"Don't talk to me."

"Now that's no way to talk to a Bulstrode." He came even closer. Bellatrix stood her ground, her disinterested gaze roving over his unshaved stubble. He was most probably drunk and it wasn't even eleven a.m. yet. Her mother would have a coronary if she found her daughter talking to some tramp like this.

"I'm a Black," she returned. "Leave immediately, or I shall have to force you to do so." She wasn't afraid; for some reason, the emotion never seemed to manifest itself in her. Situations that usually meant fear just led to either anger or adrenaline.

So when the man pressed up against her and tried to shove his tongue into her mouth, she knew exactly what to do.

Her knee came up and Bellatrix aimed it at his crotch. He backed away, yowling, and she took the opportunity to crash into his body and send him toppling to the ground. His head cracked against the cobbles. She was stronger than she looked, and a combination of pain and drunkenness made him easy to take down. Blood trickled from under his hairline.

"Bravo, bravo!"

At the sound of slow clapping she jumped to her feet and whirled around. There was someone a few feet away. She couldn't see him very well through the grey gloom, so moved closer.

It was a boy.

He was an inch shorter than her and most probably the same age, that handful of years when girls are taller than boys. Inky hair as dark as hers brushed the collar of his expensive-looking shirt. His skin was slightly tanner than hers which made his brilliant blue eyes stand out.

She had to admit he was good-looking. For a boy. But then she was too, so she drew herself up and sneered.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Rodolphus, at your service," he said with a bow that seemed somehow to be taunting her. "And you must be the ever-lovely Bellatrix Black."

"How do you know?" she fired immediately.

"Your pendant," he said, his tone indicating it should have been obvious. "It has your coat-of-arms on it."

A slow flush worked its way over her ivory cheeks. She was mortified, which made her angrier.

"How long have you been watching?"

"Long enough," he said. "You know, I was waiting to see what you'd do to fend him off. I must say I'm impressed. I like a girl with spunk." He winked.

"If you'd been watching, you should have helped me. A gentleman would have helped," she snapped.

"I'm no gentleman," he said. "Don't you know who I am?"

She tilted her head. "No. Should I?"

He shrugged, giving her a humourless smile. "Most people do. Would it help if I said I had a younger brother called Rabastan?"

"Rabastan," she repeated. "Rabastan, Rodolphus..._Lestrange_?"

"The very same," he agreed.

Her eyes widened, shock overtaking her features. The Lestranges were well known in the circles her family ran in. Impeccably pureblooded, rich beyond measure, and then of course there was their father Richenmore Lestrange. He had been a great practitioner of the Dark Arts. Now in polite society the Lestranges were shunned out of a mixture of fear and awe.

Bellatrix wondered what he was doing here and opened her mouth to asked.

"I'm about to start at Hogwarts," he said as though he had read her mind. "Mother is busy at Flourish and Blott's so she told me to take a look around."

She nodded. Although she was fighting hard to keep her usual blankness on her face, she had always struggled with hiding her emotions and that difficulty felt magnified tenfold around him. Within the first few minutes of their meeting he had awoken one of her famous rages in her.

But if he was anything like his father, she would do best keeping her mouth shut and her head down. No matter how much it went against what she _wanted _to do.

Suddenly Bellatrix remembered the man who had accosted her. She knelt beside him, looking dispassionately at his face. Rodolphus put two fingers on the man's wrist.

"I think he's dead," he said. "You really hit him hard, and he cracked his skull on the cobblestones. We'll have to get rid of the body."

"_We _are not doing anything," she said sharply. "_I _am going to get rid of the body, and _you _are going to go back to watching innocent girls get assaulted by drunkards."

At that he laughed. "Innocent? You just killed someone! And what, pray tell, are you planning to do with the body?"

"I'll think of something," she said.

Rodolphus made a disbelieving noise low in his throat and folded his arms. "Alright. I'm waiting."

Bellatrix didn't want to tell him to go, because that proved his presence bothered her. Normally she would have had no such reservations. But she was dealing with a Lestrange here. The family name was even more infamous than her own, and she knew when she was dealing with a mouthful bigger than she could chew.

That didn't mean she had to accept his help.

She slid her hand into the front pocket of her robes where she had stashed her newly-bought wand. She might not have started at Hogwarts yet, but growing up in a magical family meant she knew her fair share of spells.

Rodolphus spoke as she extracted the wand. "You're not seventeen yet, you still have the Trace on you. Try again."

She flashed him a smile. "You don't know how the Trace works, do you?"

"It can tell when you use magic."

"It can tell when someone in the vicinity uses magic," she corrected. "Not necessarily you. And since Knockturn Alley is a hotbed of magic..."

"Genius," he breathed. A wide smile split his face, and she saw that he was impressed. Oddly it made her feel proud.

She used her wand to incinerate the corpse with a white-hot burst to flame. A pile of ashes drifted down to the ground, quickly swallowed up among the dirt already there and falling between the cracks.

"See?" she said smugly, looking up. But he was already gone.

_**First year**_

"Make it grow back!" Bellatrix shrieked.

The entire Charms class shifted in their seats, the better to view the live entertainment coming from a corner of the classroom. She heard people start chuckling and vowed to deal with them later.

But not before she'd murdered the boy standing in front of her.

"Oops," Rodolphus Lestrange said, grinning. "My wand appears to have slipped."

"You were meant to be cutting the rabbit's hair, not mine!" she hissed. Her gloriously long hair was now nearly as short as Rodolphus' own, and she was painfully aware that she looked a right fool.

And he'd done it on purpose, the insufferable, rude, arrogant, pompous little -

"Miss Black!" Professor Flitwick squeaked, and with dawning horror she realised she'd been broadcasting her mental slagging-off for the whole class to hear.

"Detention, Miss Black!" Flitwick ordered. "To Slughorn's office, now!"

That trademark smirk of his was the last thing she saw as she stomped out of the room. And, while she managed to make boils erupt on the faces of everyone who'd laughed at her, his looks mysteriously remained flawless.

She returned to the drawing board, and thus begun the epic battle of wits between Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus Lestrange.

_**Second Year**_

"Isn't he adorable?" Moira Parkinson said, gazing at the creature in her hand.

Bellatrix squirmed. She hated spiders, especially ones that were the size of a small kitten and as repulsive as this one.

"I've seen more adorable Blast-Ended Skrewts," she said.

They were sitting around the fire in the Slytherin common room. The older years were all busy sitting end-of-year exams or cramming at the Library, hence why the two girls had managed to score such coveted seats. To Bellatrix's annoyance Rodolphus was there too. He lounged on an armchair as though it was a throne, surrounded by his friends.

His blue eyes flickered to the spider. "The teachers will have your head if they find out, you know," he said. "We aren't allowed in the Forbidden Forest."

"Who's going to tell?" Moira said challengingly, but she stood up and clucked her tongue. "Come along, Snookums. It's bedtime now."

"_Snookums_?" Bellatrix repeated disbelievingly. "You named that thing after a cute furry animal?"

"But it is cute and furry," Moira argued.

"Whatever. Just make sure I never see that thing again, or I won't be held accountable for my actions."

Rodolphus looked interested. "You're scared of spiders?"

"No," she snapped, aware that he would use anything he could against her.

He didn't look like he believed her, but she was resplendent in the knowledge that he could do nothing to her while in her dorms and put it out of her mind.

The next morning, most of Slytherin House was awoken by a terrified scream that echoed under the lake.

"What's wrong?" Head Boy Nott roared as he burst into the common room with his wand outstretched.

Bellatrix dived for his wand, wrested it from him and turned it on the furry object she had discovered in her bed that morning.

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

The spider fell to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Nott asked, repulsed.

"The _arachnidus monstrus_," came a voice. "A baby one."

From among the crowd of pyjama-clad Slytherins watching at a safe distance, Rodolphus stepped out. He was the only one properly dressed. Bellatrix felt embarrassment as he took in her Hello Kitty nightgown. But it was quickly swallowed by anger, and she strode up to him to jab him in the chest with Nott's wand.

"You bastard! How did you get into the girls' dorms? And I swear, you'll bloody well regret this - "

"Enough," Nott said wearily. Most of the watchers had dispersed, seeing the drama was over. "Five points from Slytherin, Lestrange. The girl's reaction might have been amusing but that isn't a good enough excuse."

Bellatrix narrowed her flaming grey eyes at the Head Boy. "You think my reaction was _amusing_, do you, Nott? Will it be just as amusing when I have Father fire your older brother from the Ministry?"

He paled. "What? No, I didn't - "

"Good," she said. "You can go, then."

As she made to return to her dorms she was stopped by something Rodolphus said. "You know, if I'd fired someone every time someone took points from Slytherin because of me, most of the Ministry would be out of a job. There was no need to overreact. You tend to do that a lot."

His words would come back to haunt her, years later, but at twelve years old Bellatrix simply sneered. "You saint, you!"

She swept on up, conscious of his brilliant blue eyes drilling into her back.

_**Third Year**_

It was a disaster waiting to happen.

Bellatrix Black and Rodolphus Lestrange were both trying out for the open position of Keeper on the Slytherin Quidditch Team. Somehow word of this had gotten out and the stands were packed. They couldn't be in close quarters without something exploding - usually the volatile Bellatrix's temper. Rodolphus was better at keeping his cool.

"Right," Carrow, the Captain, said. "Black, you're over there. Lestrange, there. Right at the other end of the pitch."

"Go, Bella!" Moira yelled. Bellatrix smiled at her and fingered her new state-of-the-art Nimbus 1000. Irritatingly Rodolphus had the same broomstick.

Oh, well. It couldn't be helped. She mounted her broom and kicked off for the preliminary lap of the pitch, feeling the wind flow through her loose arrow-straight hair. It gleamed with midnight blue highlights in the sun.

Carrow had placed it so that Rodolphus was half a pitch in front of her, thereby finishing his lap before she would. She saw him glance back over his shoulder. Straight at her.

That was when she fell off.

Bellatrix yelled out in shock but had the presence of mind to grasp blindly onto the broom handle with one hand. She knew everyone's attention was riveted on her. Her body dangled from the Nimbus 1000 being buffeted by the wind. She couldn't - hold - on - much - longer -

She let go.

The ground rose up to meet her and she rolled, taking the impact. Someone helped her up.

"You alright?"

Carrow. She nodded. "Fine. I'll just have to restart my lap."

But he was shaking his head. "Sorry, but I can't do that. It wouldn't be fair."

"What?" she snarled."It wasn't my fault I fell off the broom! In fact, I have a pretty good idea just whose it was!"

The person in question landed beside them and smirked. "Bella, you can't come to Quidditch tryouts if you can't even stay on the broom!"

**"**Do. Not. Call. Me. Bella," she ground out. "And I know this is all your fault! I saw you look at me!" Her voice rose at the end.

"Look at you," he repeated. "Hmm, yes. I do believe I looked at you. I also looked at everyone else in the air, so how come they haven't humiliated themselves in front of the entire school?"

Bellatrix saw red. Coherent thought left her brain as she lunged at him. He was surprised enough that she managed to bowl him over, and they tumbled to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs, her nails scratching at every inch of him she could reach.

"_Discedio_!"

They flew apart, both panting. Rodolphus' face was covered in numerous scratches.

"I am disappointed in both of your conducts," Professor McGonagall said severely. "Fifty points from Slytherin, and you have been banned from partaking in any more tryouts this year!"

Back in their common room he spat at her, "I hope you're happy now, getting us banned from tryouts!"

"Me? You made my fall off my broom in the first place!"

And the bickering started all over again.

_**Fourth Year**_

He stole her first kiss, which was probably the worst out of all the things he had done that she would never forgive him for.

"What was that for?" More out of bemusement than pain, his hand came up to cradle his stinging cheek.

"You stole my first kiss!" she wailed. "It's meant to be _special_! You don't give it out to just anybody!"

"But I'm not just anybody," he said. "I'm your arch-nemesis for life, or had you forgotten?"

She scowled at the reminder of when her temper had snapped in class a few days ago. She'd stood up and screamed that Rodolphus Lestrange was her arch-nemesis for life and she _goddamned hated the bloody git with a passion_. It had been even more mortifying that he wasn't actually in said class with her.

"Besides," he continued, "if it makes you feel any better, it wasn't _my _first kiss."

"I know, and it doesn't," she said disgustedly. Just yesterday she had caught sight of him with his mouth pressed against that slag Lucy Yaxley's. It had inspired a surge of emotion within her that she rightly put down to distaste.

"Well, that's alright then," he said brightly. "Wanna snog again?"

"God, no. It was awful," she lied, although it had been... pleasant for the few seconds she'd allowed it before coming to her senses.

He simply grinned cockily. "That isn't what Lucy said. Or Hanna, or Juliet."

"You man-whore!" Bellatrix said, outraged. "Get the hell away from me, before I hex you!"

"Ah, don't be like that," he said. Then he saw her brandish her wand threateningly and backed away. "Okay, okay, I'm gone!"

When he had gone, Bellatrix delicately touched her fingers to her tingling - from revulsion, she assured herself - lips.

_**Fifth Year**_

Bellatrix would forevermore hold Rodolphus responsible for her utter failure in her Potions O.W.L.

_Lionfish scale... Monkshood..._

She sweated and strained over her cauldron. The clouds of multicoloured steam filling the dungeon meant very little was visible, apart from the shadowy figure of Rodolphus Lestrange situated directly in front of her. She rolled her eyes at this turn of bad luck and continued cutting the monkshood up.

Then she remembered that Rodolphus had the highest grade of the class in Potions.

Instantly she switched her attention to him and copied his every ingredient in the order he did it in. When she emerged, she was red-faced but confident of an O.

"Hey, Bella!"

Before she could upbraid him for using her nickname he carried on. "Did you get everything I did in there?" He raised a dark eyebrow, arm draped around one of the many floozies who had taken to following him around.

She stiffened. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is... I'm not above cutting off my nose to spite my face."

He walked away, and she only realised what he had meant when she looked at the T she had received for Potions.

_**Sixth Year**_

In sixth year Bellatrix started dating Dernier Selwyn.

He was passably good looking, even if he was boring, and she knew his blonde hair and grey eyes complimented her own looks perfectly. So what if there were stuffed pigs who could hold better conversation? She wasn't going out with him for his mouth skills in _that _particular area.

In sixth year she also seemed to clash with Rodolphus. As she had proclaimed when she was fourteen, the years had not dulled her absolute loathing of him, and it seemed every time her and Dernier were about to do anything he popped up. The fact that he usually popped up and interrupted by having dry sex with his latest flavour annoyed her to the extreme.

After all, she was a person of extremes, of careens and zigzags and opposite ends of the spectrum. He was as predictable as the day was long. What possible interest could a boy like him hold for a girl like her?

The last straw came when Rodolphus interrupted by swinging a fist at Dernier's jaw.

Her boyfriend staggered backward, giving a groan of pain. Bellatrix choked.

"_What the hell did you just do that for_?"

"He had his hand up your skirt!" Rodolphus snarled, uncharacteristically angry. "This isn't the time or place, and what kind of boy touches his girlfriend like that in public? Better still, what kind of girl lets herself be touched like that in public?"

His hypocrisy was so breathtaking Bellatrix was momentarily stunned into silence. Then she recovered.

"You... you little two-faced bastard! As if you haven't done worse with girls who weren't even your girlfriend! And," she made a show of looking around the deserted passageway, "what public, pray tell?"

His jaw knotted. "Selwyn's a coward."

She could have happily killed him there and then, but with a great force of her iron will she turned her head to look down at Selwyn's prone form. "Get up," she ordered. "We're leaving." When she saw Rodolphus open his mouth again, she shot him such a filthy look he shut it again.

Bellatrix continued to date Dernier for another two days. Then she paid a Ravenclaw to stick magically Photoshopped pictures of him kissing some blonde up around school, finding an irrefutable reason to break up with a very confused Dernier.

_**Seventh Year**_

When seventh year came around all hell broke loose.


	2. The Crowning of Bellatrix Black

**AN: Hope you enjoy! Ironically, this is the lightest out of all my Sisters Black trilogy for all Bellatrix is the darkest sister. Dedicated to jayfeather for being the first to review :)**

**Chapter One: The Crowning of Bellatrix Black**

"He's _what_?!" Bellatrix screamed. "Fucking no!"

"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry," the first-year stammered. "But you asked me to find out who was running for the Lord of Slytherin this year was, and I did tell you the truth - "

"Leave before I forget that I shouldn't shoot the messenger," she ordered.

Hugely relieved, the first-year scuttled off, leaving Bellatrix to continue pacing up and down the compartment. Moira Parkinson and her boyfriend Gordon Avery watched languidly from their seats.

"Don't take it so badly, Bella," Avery said. "Lestrange isn't such a bad fellow."

She rounded on him with such a frightening expression he shifted back away from her.

"_Isn't such a bad fellow_?" she repeated. "Perhaps not to imbeciles like you, Avery. But when he sees a person of greater intelligence - such as myself - he feels threatened enough that he has to resort to petty insults and pranks to redeem himself!"

Avery wisely refrained from pointing out that Bellatrix gave as good as she got in terms of 'petty insults and pranks.' Instead he watched her grey eyes narrow. Her feet were beating a tattoo on the floor, robes swishing around her ankles.

"I don't see any way to get around it," she said finally. "I will not accept anything other than Lady of Slytherin. If that means ruling alongside him, so be it."

Moira and Avery exchanged startled looks. Was Bellatrix Black, with her infamous temper, actually submitting?

She caught the look and sneered. "Fools! I do not give up. Blacks do not give up. But if I am Lady of Slytherin, imagine how easy it will be for me to arrange little 'accidents' for him..."

Her voice tailed off as she sank into a happy fantasy of throwing Rodolphus into a tank of sharks. Her companions breathed a sigh of relief. She hadn't suffered a blow to the head after all.

The three of them were currently sitting in their reserved compartment on the Hogwarts Express. The train had just started moving, and Bellatrix had sent off her customary spy to inform her of the doings of her nemesis. It appeared that he was running for the position of Lord of Slytherin.

The Lord and Lady of Slytherin were a pair of seventh-years, selected out of a council made up of representatives from the Sacred Twenty-Eight pureblood families. Only the Abbott, Longbottom and Weasley families were absent due to being in other Houses. Bellatrix was the Black representative and had no doubt she would be chosen - she was feared and respected among the other families.

Unfortunately, she also had no doubt that Rodolphus Lestrange would be chosen as well. He was handsome, charismatic, rich and powerful - everything a Lord of Slytherin should be. But a Lord should also care for his people. _He _didn't care for anybody but himself.

There was a knock at the door. "Enter!" Bellatrix barked.

A Slytherin younger girl entered. "I was told to give you this." She handed her a furled piece of parchment before making her escape.

Bellatrix read the note. "Come, it's time to go. The Council's been called."

Avery frowned. "Already? Usually it's later on."

"Stop yammering and get your arse off that seat," she said impatiently. "We don't want to be late!"

He didn't quite dare to roll him eyes, so settled with groaning as he got to his feet and pulled Moira up with him. They followed along behind their mistress as she swept regally through the train. People pressed themselves to the sides to make room as she passed.

They reached the Council Compartment and knocked.

"Who is it?" came Travers' voice.

"Bellatrix Black for the House of Black, Moira Parkinson for the Family Parkinson and Gordon Avery," she answered.

"Password?"

"Nagini."

"Enter."

She pushed open the door. The compartment was draped in green and silver, members of each pureblood family sitting around a central table in order of importance. Her place was near the start. Only Alecto Carrow separated her from Rodolphus Lestrange, who turned to her and winked.

She felt her temper start simmering, always close to boiling point when she was with him. In the six years since she had first met him he had only grown better-looking. Quidditch (he had become Seeker and she had become a Chaser in fifth year) had stripped the remaining puppy fat from his body, making it hard and lithe instead of bulked with muscle. His black hair was fine and straight. Blue eyes gleamed, framed by long dark lashes, and his lips were currently pulled into a smirk as he looked at her.

She couldn't look at his lips without remembering the indignity of her first kiss. She set her jaw and slid into her seat.

"Now we're all here, we can begin," Ollivander said from the head of the table. "First order of the day: the Crowning."

Everyone around the table leaned forward imperceptibly.

"As you know, the main candidate for Lord of Slytherin is Rodolphus Lestrange."

Eyes swivelled to him. He inclined his head, like a king to his subjects.

"And the main candidate for Lady of Slytherin is Bellatrix Black."

"But, Ollivander," Evan Rosier said, "I don't think it would be very... beneficial to have Black and Lestrange ruling together."

"I am aware of that," Ollivander responded. His huge silver eyes were murky. "But personal history has no bearing on the Crowning, and if they choose to accept their titles there is nothing to be done."

"I for one," Bellatrix cut in, "will do my utmost to ensure Rodolphus and I coexist peacefully." She flashed him a sharp smile, baring teeth.

"So will I," he said with a dark grin of his own. No-one believed either of them for a second.

"Be that as it may, it is not our place to question your domestic problems," Ollivander said solemnly.

"_Domestic problems_?" Bellatrix gasped. "You make us sound like a married couple!"

"Aren't you?" Invidia Crouch asked with a raised eyebrow. "You certainly act like it. Constant arguments, death threats... I was under the impression Rodolphus would ask you to marry him as soon as you left Hogwarts."

"I was going to," Rodolphus mock-confided, "but I see she's a shrew that no man can tame. Will you be my wife instead, fair Invidia?" He gave her one of his charming grins. Those gathered around the table snickered. Bellatrix felt the unreasonable urge to cut Invidia's tongue out so the little slag would be unable to make any more high-pitched giggles.

"So, moving on," Ollivander said although his voice was still amused. "All in favour of Rodolphus Lestrange as Lord of Slytherin?"

Nearly every hand rose. Bellatrix's didn't, nor did Moira's after a glare from her best friend.

"All in favour of Bellatrix Black as Lady of Slytherin?"

Once again every hand rose, except of course the one belonging to Rodolphus and _his _best friend Marcus Prewitt.

"It seems the two of you are our new rulers," Ollivander concluded. "Do you accept the crown?"

"I do," they said in unison.

"Sounds like wedding vows," Goyle muttered. He was instantly speared by two pairs of eyes.

"Very well. In that case..."

Ollivander took his wand out and tapped it thrice against the table. Two silver crowns set with emeralds unfolded like smoke from the tip.

"I name thee, Rodolphus Lestrange, Lord of Slytherin and Master of the Blood. I name thee, Bellatrix Black, Lady of Slytherin and Mistress of Deception!"

The table erupted with cheers. With slightly trembling fingers Bellatrix reached out and set the crown closest to her on her head. It fit perfectly on top of her black locks.

_Finally. _She'd only been waiting for this moment her whole life.

Something of what she was thinking must have shown in her face, because Rodolphus caught her eye and smirked.

"Not so fast, Bella. I'm your co-ruler, remember. Anything that happens has to be approved by me too."

She gave him a saccharine smile. "Killing you off shouldn't be too difficult."

He roared with laughter. "You can try, darling, but it'll be harder than you think."

Her surroundings faded away as she leaned closer to him, uncaring of the gazes riveted on them. "I never lose, Rodolphus. You'd do well to remember that." Her breath whispered across his ear, hot and ticklish.

"You may never lose," he said, "but I always win."

"What's the difference?"

Before he could answer, Rosier interjected with a whistle. "Damn, I can feel the sexual tension from here!"

"Shut up," Bellatrix snapped. For the first time she noticed the scant distance separating them and jumped away like she had been electrocuted.

"No, really," Invidia said. "The two of you need to blow off steam in the nearest broom cupboard, or you'll end up ripping the clothes off each other in the middle of the Great Hall."

There was more laughter. Bellatrix's cheeks crimsoned. She saw Rodolphus open his mouth and knew without a doubt he was about to make some crass comment, so she took action.

"_Silencio_!"

He gaped, unable to form words.

"Now that's got been rid of," Bellatrix said brightly, "I think that my first order as Lady will be to ban all and any jokes, references or innuendos relating to Lestrange and I." Her gaze slid towards him. "I don't think my lovely co-ruler has any objections, right?"

He snarled soundlessly at her. She only laughed.

"Anything else?"

There was a pause, then Ollivander broke it.

"It seems, Bellatrix," he said, "you are just the person Slytherin has been looking for."

"I know," she said smugly. "It's just a shame that I'm hampered by this idiot here, but all's well that ends well. And _that one's _ending pretty soon, if I have anything to say about it."

Rodolphus scoffed. Flicking his wand, he nonverbally cast off the Silencing Charm. "We'll see, sweetheart. We'll see."


	3. The Agreement with Bellatrix Black

**AN: Just so you guys know, this is a lighthearted story meant to distract from Him and Her and the Betrayal. Dunno how long it'll be.**

**Chapter Two: The Baiting of Bellatrix Black**

The good news was that Rodolphus Lestrange wasn't Head Boy, so Bellatrix didn't have to see him rub it in her face.

The bad news was that she wasn't either.

Still, she thought as she admired the crown in the mirror, at least she was Lady of Slytherin. It had been one week since her Crowning and her and Rodolphus had not yet come to blows. In fact, this was because every time she saw him coming she ducked into the nearest classroom.

Though naturally no-one would dare accuse Bellatrix Black of _avoiding _someone.

"Green suits you," Moira observed from her bed in the girls' dorms. "Silver less so, but then again your eyes _are _grey, so they put a shine in it..."

"Shut up," Bellatrix said bluntly. "Do I look good?"

"Yes," Moira said warily. "Bella, the only times you ask if you look good are when - "

"Thank you," she said, marching out of the dorms and down to the common room below. It was nearly nine at night, and the common room was filled with chattering Slytherins of all ages. Of course, Rodolphus was sitting in pride of place, he and his lackeys taking up the collection of armchairs in front of the fire.

Bellatrix made a beeline for them. "Lestrange."

"Bella! What do I owe this pleasure to?" he exclaimed theatrically. She sneered at his hand which she could clearly see feeling up the redhead draped around his shoulders.

"I want to make public displays of affection outlawed in the common room," she told him without preamble.

"Oh?" he said sardonically.

"I'm glad you agree with me," she said and started to sweep away.

He reached out then, fingers closing around her arm, making her hiss and jerk away. "Don't fucking touch me!"

"Ooh, feisty," he said. But he released her arm. "Now, when did you hear me say I agreed?"

"I don't need to hear you say it. You didn't argue with it, which implies consent," she fired.

"Maybe you just didn't give me enough time to argue," Rodolphus suggested genially.

She hated how easily he could rile her up when he looked like he was simply enjoying himself. Her beautiful face twisted into a scowl.

"Three, two, one, zero. There. No arguments."

"Hang on," he said, turning to the boy beside him. Marcus Prewitt, she recognised. His best friend, though how he managed to make any - let alone the harem of girls that followed his every move - was a mystery to her.

"Now, Prewitt," he was saying, "do _you _think Miss Black here has given me enough time to protest her dictatorship ways?"

Prewett smirked at her. Bellatrix wondered if he had been taking smirk lessons.

"No, I don't believe she has," he was saying in mock-surprise.

"That settles it," Rodolphus said cheerfully. "And I say that I _don't _want PDA banned in the common room."

Bellatrix counted to ten and took a deep breath. She didn't normally try to rein in her temper, but unfortunately he had Slytherin law on his side for this one.

"Listen here, Lestrange," she said in as reasonable a voice as she could manage. "I don't believe that practically banging your girlfriend in front of impressionable first-years is a particularly responsible thing to do. In fact, it's -"

"I get it," he interrupted. His tone was awed. "You're _jealous_!"

She spluttered. "_What_?"

But he was grinning, the sort of grin that made him look more handsome and more infuriating at the same time, the grin that meant he was about to annoy her out of her mind.

"You're jealous because you don't have a boyfriend," he clarified. "So you don't want to see other people - namely, me - rubbing it in your face." He eyed her pityingly. "Well, you're not _that _ugly, so to take the pain away I'd be happy to 'practically bang you', as you put in." It did not escape her attention that he still had a hand on the redhead's breast.

To hell with reining her temper in. Slytherin law did _not_ allow him this.

"You arrogant little prick!" she screeched. "Do you think the whole fucking world revolves around you? Well, it doesn't!"

His supreme calmness would drive her to an early grave someday. Didn't the boy ever get angry?

"That's not what Mila here thinks," Rodolphus said with a definite note of humour in his voice as he indicated the redhead.

Bellatrix leaned forward and hissed at her, "_Leave_."

Mila glanced uncertainly at him, but got up and sashayed away.

"So that's the reason you won't agree to the rule," Bellatrix sneered. "Since you're one of the people doing the banging. Tell me, have you ever stopped to think that people DON'T WANT TO SEE THESE THINGS? Take her up to the dorms, for God's sake!"

He had the nerve to fake-yawn loudly. "Yeah, whatever, you jealous, lonely little bitch. I'm going up now," he added to Prewett. "Make sure this one doesn't hit me in the back with one, alright?"

"A jealous, lonely little bitch, am I?" Bellatrix asked. Her voice was soft and silky. For the first time Rodolphus looked at her with something approaching caution.

"Bella - "

"_Scourgify_!"

He choked as the soap bubbled out of his mouth and nose. He couldn't breathe, and she knew it, watching impassively as he strained for air.

Prewett jumped up. "_Aguamenti_!"

The spray of water washed the bubbles away. Rodolphus collapsed into the armchair and wheezed for breath. When he recovered, he looked up.

"That should teach you to insult me like that," Bellatrix said scathingly.

She felt like tearing her hair out when he merely assessed her thoughtfully. "Still an over-reactor, I see," he said. "One of these days it'll get you into trouble, Bella my girl."

"I am not your girl," she said through clenched teeth. "Do you never learn?"

"Oh, I know you want me really," he said airily.

Before she could jump on him again Moira appeared and pulled Bellatrix back. "That's enough for one night," she said. "Rodolphus, go. Stop winding her up."

"But it's so _fun_," he pouted playfully. He looked cute when he did that. She was immediately horrified at herself for noticing.

"Very well, my lady, if you insist," he said with an extravagant bow. "Come along, Prewett." The two boys took the staircase that led down to the boy's dorm beneath.

Bellatrix tumbled into an armchair with a sigh, then jumped up when she realised it was his and sat in another one. Moira perched on its arm.

"Why do you let him get to you so much?" she asked.

Bellatrix grimaced. "I try not to, but there's something about him that just gets under my skin and I feel like throttling him. He thinks he's the bloody king or something, like he can lord it over all the rest of us and when he says jump we say how high - "

"But you're like that too," Moira pointed out as gently as possible. "Don't glare at me like that, it's true. You're both stubborn as hell, bossy, unpredictable - "

She snorted disbelievingly. "Mr Boring, unpredictable? That'll be a cold day in hell."

"That proves my point," Moira said. "He's only predictable for you, because you're so alike and you can read him so well. For the rest of us we don't know what mood he'll be in from today to tomorrow."

"You have just insulted me in the worst way possible by comparing me to him," Bellatrix said briefly. "Now go bang Avery or something, I have homework to do."

"You know I'm right," Moira called over her shoulder as she sauntered to the other side of the common room.

~#~#~

Bellatrix had just gotten started on Divination when a shadow loomed over her. She raised her head.

"Bellatrix."

"Invidia," she nodded at the Crouch heir. "What do you want?"

Invidia slipped in beside her. "I couldn't help overhearing your little disagreement with Rodolphus..."

She barked a laugh. "The whole common room overheard. Get to the point."

Used to the other girl's forthrightness, Invidia was not perturbed. "You really hate him, don't you?"

"I'd have killed him long ago if he wasn't so important," she admitted. "There'd be an inquest by the Wizengamot, which incidentally his grandfather is on, and I'd be thrown in Azkaban. His family is even more powerful than mine."

"So you hate him," Invidia concluded. "What do you think of me?"

Bellatrix watched her through narrowed eyes. "I don't trust you."

"Of course not," she agreed. "I don't trust you either. But would you be willing to make a little bet with me?"

"That depends. On what?"

"Rodolphus Lestrange. I'm going to bet him five hundred Galleons that he can't get you to sleep with him, which of course will make him come after you. And here I am now, too, betting _you _five hundred Galleons that you'll screw him by the end of the year."

Bellatrix tilted her head. "So he'll get five hundred Galleons if he sleeps with me, I get five hundred if I resist. Is that it?"

Invidia nodded. "Yes. And just so you know, he won't know about this little arrangement I have with you."

She mulled it over in her mind, then laughed and lifted one shoulder in a shrug. "Why the hell not? It's not like I'll ever sleep with him, and if by some miracle I get drunk enough to do so five hundred Galleons is pocket change for me. Win-win."

"So you accept?" Invidia prodded.

"One more thing," Bellatrix said. "Why are you doing this, and why have _they _put you up to it?" She pointed at the gang of Slytherins some distance away trying to eavesdrop inconspicuously.

Invidia chuckled, her cheeks pinking slightly. "I guess they are kind of obvious. Really, it's our last year, and the others of the Council and I want some entertainment. We're getting bored. It's too _easy_. We're the richest and the prettiest and the most popular and everyone eats out of our hands, don't they?"

Bellatrix nodded slowly. She understood what she meant.

"So this bet adds a little spice to life. I mean, look at Rosier and Shafiq, they're already betting on who's going to win. Shafiq bet on you by the way."

Bellatrix leaned back in her armchair, thinking it over, her eyes heavy-lidded. "Fine," she said. "As long as Lestrange doesn't know that I'm in on it, I accept. And I want an Unbreakable Vow."

Invidia gave her a wide-eyed innocent look. "An Unbreakable Vow? Really?"

"Yes," Bellatrix said. "We both know each other too well, I'm afraid."

"True," Invidia gave in. "None of us have stellar reputations in the trust department. I'll call Ollivander over, he can do the honours."

The two girls clasped arms under the ring of fire, and Bellatrix smirked. This was going to be just too easy.


	4. The Blackmailing of Bellatrix Black

**Chapter Three: The Blackmailing of Bellatrix Black**

As it turned out, Bellatrix won the battle on banning PDA in the common room quite by accident.

The morning after she had made the bet with Invidia, Bellatrix was sitting in Ancient Runes listening to Professor Draper explain the difference between Demonic Runes and Vampiric Runes. It was a fascinating subject. However that had no effect on her bladder.

She raised her hand. "Can I go to the bathroom, Professor?"

"Yes, yes," he said absently before continuing with his lecture. She hitched her bag onto her shoulder and left.

The corridors were deserted, everyone busy in their lessons. Bellatrix hummed a Weird Sisters tune under her breath as she finished off in the bathroom and washed her hands. That was when she heard a yell.

"Get the fuck off me!"

She might have left it at that, but the voice belonged to Rodolphus Lestrange. She pricked her ears up and cocked her head. From the boys' bathroom just a few feet across the hall she could hear some very interesting sounds.

Bellatrix was not one to let a little thing like propriety stop her. She strode into the boys' bathroom, wand out. What she saw made her stop dead and gape.

Was that Rodolphus _kissing Christopher Yaxley?_

She was unable to believe what her eyes were telling her. Rodolphus had been backed up against the wall and appeared to be wriggling with pleasure, while Christopher kept his lips ruthlessly pressed to his. She would forever thank her lucky stars that she had the presence of mind to cast a Freezing Spell.

"_Ferrime_!"

The spell froze both boys in their place, allowing her to stalk forward to examine them. Only their eyes could move. She saw Rodolphus go cross-eyed trying to keep her in sight and smirked.

"Well, well, well. What have we here? Is the great playboy Rodolphus Lestrange actually attracted to his own sex?"

She saw his fury in his irises, but he could do nothing. She ran a sharp fingernail gently down his cheek. It was almost like a lover's caress - until she dug it viciously into the skin.

If he could wince, he would have. By the same logic if looks could kill she would already be dead and buried.

"And as for you," she said, turning her attention to Yaxley, "I doubt your parents would be very happy."

She took a step back and cocked her head to take in the situation. Yaxley had Rodolphus backed up so completely against the wall that the latter could not escape. Rodolphus was taller but his lean, rippling muscles failed against the Slytherin Beater Yaxley's hulking form.

Bellatrix knew what she had to do. Lifting her wand, she shuffled backwards so that every detail of the scene could be viewed. Then she murmured an incantation and moved her wand in a square. The tip left glowing lines in the air. After a few moments, it solidified. She was left holding a black-and-white photograph that showcased exactly what the two boys had been doing.

It was frozen like a Muggle photo, an unfortunate side-effect of using the spell instead of the proper potion, but she was happy enough with it. Rodolphus was glaring at her. Yaxley's back was to her so he had no idea yet what she had done.

Bellatrix murmured, "_Calide_," and readied herself for battle.

Rodolphus surprised her. Fast as a striking serpent, he snatched out his wand and pointed it not at her, but Yaxley. Unbridled anger burned on his face.

"_Crucio_!"

Yaxley fell back and let out a writhing scream that had Bellatrix hiss in pain. "_Silencio_!" she commanded.

Rodolphus barely spared her a glance, too intent on his punishment of Yaxley. The Beater had his mouth open in an inaudible howl of pain. After he had deemed him sufficiently punished, he lifted the spell.

"Get out of my sight or I'll do it again."

Yaxley shot out like a bat out of hell. Only then did Rodolphus turn to Bellatrix.

"This is the boys' bathroom."

"Einstein," she said sarcastically. "As if I didn't know." With a start she realised that this was the first time she had seen him lose control. She did it all the time, but he was more reserved. It was a mark of just how angry he was. His sapphire eyes had darkened and he was breathing hard. Contrastingly, his voice was eerily calm.

"Bellatrix. You have ten seconds to give me that photo."

"Yeah?" she said tauntingly. "I don't think so. All those sluts will be _heartbroken _to find out that their favourite client doesn't appreciate them."

His expression was terrifying enough that she momentarily regretted her words, but brushed it off. What could he do to her? Nothing.

He lunged at her. She sidestepped easily, smaller and faster on her feet. He twisted almost immediately and tried to grab at the photo but she ducked under his arm. All she had to do was get away from him - he was stronger, but she was quicker. She was also less scrupulous.

He saw her raise her wand. "I'm not using my wand, you're being unfair!"

"Since when am I fair?" she asked.

"Noted," he acknowledged. "Now give me the photo and maybe I won't hex - "

"No, Rodolphus," she interrupted. "It's me making the threats, not you. Now here's how it goes: you approve the no-PDA law, I make sure this photo doesn't see the light of day."

"No way in hell. I won't cave that easy," he said.

She raised an eyebrow. "I guess I _can _see why you're so against it... after all, you won't be able to kiss your boyfriend in the common room anymore, now will you?"

He let out a roar that almost had her heart beating faster. But not from fear - she never felt it. She didn't particularly want to analyse why her body was reacting like this to how irritatingly hot he looked when he was mad, so she waited patiently for his outburst of swearing to end.

"He fucking forced himself on me, the fag!"

"That's not what this picture says," she said lazily. "Actually, it kind of looks like you were enjoying it. And unless you want this stuck up the Great Hall at lunchtime..."

He let out some more colourful expletives. "Fine, you conniving little wench. Bloody hell, I must be mad agreeing - "

"Agreeing to what?" she asked sharply.

"Nothing," he said sullenly.

She hid a smile, certain he was talking about the bet.

"I want the photo destroyed right here where I can see it," he said.

"After you sign it into law," she bargained.

"I don't trust you," Rodolphus snapped. Funny, that sounded a lot like what had been going on last night. It seemed Slytherins really did have trust issues.

"There's nobody to Bind us in an Unbreakable Vow. And since I have the upper hand, you're just going to have to take my word for it," she told him with a shark-like smile. Her word was worth about as much as a pile of dragon dung, and of course he knew it.

But he also knew he didn't have any choice. Rodolphus sighed.

"Fine."

They walked to the common room, careful to ensure that they were perfectly in time with each other, an ancient symbolic gesture that was supposed to mean they were equals. As if either of them believed that.

Bellatrix rooted through her bag before holding up a piece of parchment. "Here," she said. "Sign on the dotted line, please." Her words were mocking.

Rodolphus frowned. "You already had it written out? You were that confident?"

"I knew you were going to see it my way sooner or later," she told him with a smirk. He rolled his eyes and took the parchment to read it over.

It was brief and to the point. He scanned the wording.

_...that no actions which could be construed in any way, shape or form as vulgarly affectionate (i.e. kissing, fondling, verbal descriptions in graphic detail) may be allowed to take place in the Slytherin common room, coming into effect immediately. _

He was unable at the moment to see a loophole but also knew he had no choice. Bellatrix was watching him like a hawk. Slowly, Rodolphus reached for the quill and scrawled his signature.

Done.

The paper combusted, and Bellatrix rubbed the ash off her palms with a smug smile. "There," she cooed. "Now that wasn't so hard, was it? Must dash, I have a lesson waiting for me."

"Wait. I want to see the photo gone," he ordered.

She flicked her wand without looking at him. The photograph tore itself into tiny pieces which flew into the dustbin.

"Good," he said. "Well. Um - "

Bellatrix strode away without bothering to hear what he had been about to say. There was a triumphant twist to her blood-red lips.

She'd told him she never lost, hadn't she?


End file.
